2006.10.11: October 11, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Return to our Country of Service - Ecuador: Tallahassee Democrat: Ecuador RPCV Mark Mahoney writes: As a former Peace Corps volunteer and father of a soon-to-be sixth-grader, I started preparing in the spring of 2006 to lead a return journey to a country where I had served almost 30 years ago - Ecuador

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2006.10.11: October 11, 2006: Headlines: COS - Ecuador: Return to our Country of Service - Ecuador: Tallahassee Democrat: Ecuador RPCV Mark Mahoney writes: As a former Peace Corps volunteer and father of a soon-to-be sixth-grader, I started preparing in the spring of 2006 to lead a return journey to a country where I had served almost 30 years ago - Ecuador

Ecuador RPCV Mark Mahoney writes: As a former Peace Corps volunteer and father of a soon-to-be sixth-grader, I started preparing in the spring of 2006 to lead a return journey to a country where I had served almost 30 years ago - Ecuador

"Remembering my former life-altering experience - where I had come from at that time to where I am today - was somewhat humbling. The entire experience was one of cultural impact, learning through experiencing the reality of another culture. Friends I had maintained contact with during this time were especially helpful in providing insight and adventure for the kids. I can truthfully say that the opportunity for discovery is something that will stay with us all and, in particular, with the kids for a lifetime."

As a former Peace Corps volunteer and father of a soon-to-be sixth-grader, I started preparing in the spring of 2006 to lead a return journey to a country where I had served almost 30 years ago - Ecuador, South America.

I had been discussing the idea of traveling to that country with my son, Anthony; his good friend, Avery; and Avery's father, Dennis, who had also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, a place with strong historical ties to our country.

Imagine yourself as an 11-year-old preparing to travel to a foreign country for the first time and then experiencing the reality of immersion in another world, one so different than your own.

Ecuador's population is estimated to be 12,646,095. The population is ethnically mixed: 55 percent mestizo (mixed indigenous-Caucasian), 25 percent indigenous, 10 percent Caucasian, nine percent African and one percent other.

While in the country, we had the opportunity to return to the village of Cahuasqui, where I had served in 1975. The route along the old Inca road had changed little since then, when I often deferred to horseback as a “safer” mode of transportation.

Remembering my former life-altering experience - where I had come from at that time to where I am today - was somewhat humbling.

We journeyed to the coastal area of Atacames, where the kids swam in the Pacific Ocean and saw an uninhabited island where thousands of birds were nesting.

We also traveled to the town of Banos, in the shadow of the volcano Tungurahua - “throat of fire” in the Quichua tongue. This was readily apparent when we hiked to an overlook near the volcano and heard some deep rumblings. Later, a major explosion of the volcano occurred and sent a plume five miles high into the atmosphere, with some serious aftereffects for a significant portion of the Ecuadorian population.

Finally, we undertook a trip to “El Oriente,” the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle.

We repaired a bridge, hiked to a massive waterfall in the pouring rain and experienced a journey in a dugout canoe in a raging river with a tarantula as our guest along for the ride.

The entire experience was one of cultural impact, learning through experiencing the reality of another culture. Friends I had maintained contact with during this time were especially helpful in providing insight and adventure for the kids. I can truthfully say that the opportunity for discovery is something that will stay with us all and, in particular, with the kids for a lifetime.

Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here.

Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace CorpsSenator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments.

He served with honorOne year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor.

Peace Corps' Screening and Medical ClearanceThe purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process.

The Peace Corps is "fashionable" againThe LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace.

PCOL readership increases 100%Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

History of the Peace CorpsPCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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Story Source: Tallahassee Democrat

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Ecuador; Return to our Country of Service - Ecuador

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